Life x Work: Elevate Your Inner Game

The term workaholic is well known, specially in creative industries. I have personally heard many times peers discussing how the ‘fun factor’, usually attributed to the games industry and other creative media, is used as motivation for overwork and sometimes even as excuse for reduced compensation.

It feels to me as the term has been romanticised and normalised over the years. Many of us perceive working hard (and smart) as a valuable skill. I spend years going above and beyond the line of duty and giving my all to the companies I worked on. I surely do not regret it and will continue pursuing excellency. I am still proud of my dedication to every task I apply myself to complete.

However, being a workaholic offers many pitfalls, especially to our mental and physical health.

How can we be efficient, effective and productive, without breaking ourselves in the process? As I prepare myself to take a break to recover and recharge, I wanted to reflect upon the importance of achieving work x life balance and stabilise business and personal growth.

Burnout in creative industries

It doesn’t matter the role: working in creative fields is stressful. Dealing with long hours, demanding clients / bosses, high turnover and lay offs and the need for constant innovation and flexibility can take its toll on the most seasoned professionals. Even the best /most caring leaders are under constant pressure.

Although many companies in the industry discuss and strive to improve their working culture, creating a constructive environment, it is impossible to ignore that stressed professionals tend to be harsh on themselves and others. And the current state of our industry does not help our mental or physical health.

Although burnout is extremely common among service providers, game developers are also intimately familiar with this issue. We even created a term for it: crunch! This term usually refers to extended periods of strenuous (sometimes unpaid) work, especially when close to a launch date. Service providers don’t usually crunch, but overwork can become part of the normal workflow. E.g., according to PRWeek , it is estimated that 41% of the professionals work 49 to 79 hours per week, equating to a staggering 24 unpaid work days per year. Additionally, the average of calls to the NABS related to mental health increases an average of 15% per year and the search for mental health support increases by 50%.

Some of the most common symptoms of burnout include:

???? Inability to switch off: Burnt out people tend to continuously obsess over work while enjoying their free time. In my case, I tend to dream about work.

???? Overwhelm, depression and anxiety: Burnout professionals showcase a propensity to be on edge and irritable. This is ever more evident with individuals that have difficulty defining boundaries. Additionally, having a very friendly relationship with your team is an asset most of the time. However, it is a true curse for burnout, as we tend to feel guilty when we act somehow selfishly.

???? Lack of sleep and exhaustion. In the darkest times, even sleeping several hours doesn’t quench the thirst for rest. Chronic fatigue is a real monster.

You might be thinking that this is somebody else’s problem. It doesn’t happen in your company. But the truth is that it is a silent killer, and it happens everywhere. Specially because in the creative industries, companies are sometimes at blame for:

???? Creating a toxic environment, surrounded by stress and distress, unrealistic deadlines, a cascade of blame from management and peers, just to name some of the issues. This doesn’t mean that the teams involved are bad or the organisation is toxic. It is circumstantial and related to the way human beings might react to stressful situations.

???? Some corporations, especially larger ones, tend to prioritise profit over the teams’ wellbeing, even more so when productivity is at play. This might also occur with service providers, as clients rely more and more on lower costs and speedy delivery.

???? In times like this, when several layoffs are occurring and business is dry, defining boundaries with partners can be dreadful and the competition becomes even fiercer than ever before. Achieving the balance between pleasing clients /partners and protecting the team is a daunting task.

A culture of mental health

I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist, and I will not pretend I have all the answers, even more when I am in desperate need of rest and recharge. However, I would like to share some of the insights I collected over the years, from myself and close colleagues.

???? Food for thought: Learning new skills, outside of the work environment, is not only a great way to keep your mind sharp and your knowledge fresh, but it can also decrease the risk of mental diseases , as we advance in age. I personally enjoy learning new complementary skills, like psychology, and languages, but it is not limited to these. It is also great to share insights and knowledge with others, socialise both in an informal and professional manner. That is exceptionally important if your career does not include networking experiences.

???? Food for body: Eating healthy and balanced meals, drinking the right amount of water, and avoiding vices as much as possible helps a lot. I know this idea won’t be popular with everybody, but I tested it myself. The moment I reduced junk food and stopped smoking and drinking, I started sleeping better and my stress levels decreased. Sleep is possibly one of the most important things for a long lasting and healthy life. I used to sleep 4 hours a day and be fully functional. Nowadays, 8 hours is the norm for me. I would advise to find your sleep chronotype and adjust accordingly. Exercising is my favourite way to deal with the everyday madness. It is good to release tension, build muscles and avoid losing muscle mass in older age, while keeping a healthy weight. Doctors say minimum 3 hours a week. My ideal is 9 hours per week, but with varied intensity.

???? Food for soul: Meditation was one of those treasures I found that really changed my life. I always thought it was all BS and didn’t work at all. However, I had the chance of reading several researches about its benefits and I couldn’t deny myself from pursuing it anymore. Meditation is good not only to decrease the stress levels, it also helps improve symptoms of hypertension, diabetes and anxiety . Remember you are more than just your career. Having a social life, and personal time, hobbies and interests, enjoying the non-working hours will allow you to be happier and more productive in all aspects of your life.

YOLO

Life and work can take their tolls on us at times. It is so easy to get engulfed by our tasks and obligations, even when our environment is positive and constructive. I am sharing these insights from the eye of the storm, as I battle myself in the everyday challenges of being the professional I admire and allowing myself to enjoy life and the fruits of my efforts.

Therefore, I leave here the realisation that daunted on me a few days ago: all the success, all the wealth, all the hard work means nothing if you don’t allow yourself to relax and enjoy it. When we leave this earth, the work will be done by someone else, the money will be spent, and the material acquisitions will perish. All we take with us are the good memories and experiences we accumulated in this life. So please make sure you are allowing yourself time to create amazing memories and outstanding experiences.

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